Insulated rail joint



Sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,932@

' E, F. @CHERMERHGHN INSULATED RAIL JOINT Filed May 4, 1925 2Sheets-Sheva?l l E. F. QERMEHRN INSULATED RAIL JOINT Sept. 2z, ma1,554,920

Filed may 4, 1925 '2 sheets-sneer 2 Patented Sept. 22, 1925KQ i UNITEDstares rareur lorales. i

EDWARDS d?. SCHERMI-ERRORE, 0F BROOKLYN,NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO y"II-IlfRAIL JOINT COMPANY, `OCE' NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW" YORK.

Application 1filed May 4, `19,25. Serial No. 27,941.

To all ntzom t may concern:

Be "it known that "I, EDWARDS F. SCHERM- LEnnemi, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State ofNew York, `have invented eer- "tain new `and useful Improvements inlnsul'ated Rail Joints,o`f which "the following is "a specification.

.This'i'nvention 'relates to an ii'npro've'ment "in :insulated "railVjoints, and primarily has in view an economic use of the metal in theformation `of the joint bar, resulting yin a "very much lightened'Construction for the joint, whileat'the same `time providing a jointbar improved in the modulus of its head section as well'as in vlitstotal moment, so as Ito possess the requisite strength and stiffness forresisting "the load and `lateral forces imposed thereon.

Qrdinarily, in the fabrication o'f insulated `rail joints, the railjoint bars `which fit the tishing spaces of the rails are `rather heavyand somewhat massive in construction in order Vnot only Vto provide thenecessary strength and stiffness but also -to afford ample bearing areain the bolt holes for the insulating` bushings. `While these factors arelduly taken into consideration by `the presentL invention, a distinctivefeature of lthe latter resides `in so deforming "the joint bar,preferably atthe outerrside of its web, as 'to lmaterially decrease `theamount of `metal `in the joint bar. This materially lightens it, yetinvolves 'such a distribution of metal as to secureadequatestiffness andto `permit the web. of the bar to be disposed quite close to the web ofthe rail so that the bolt insulating.bushings will have eX- tended oradequate Ybearing'areas in the bolt 1Vholes, and thereby will beprotected from cutting or shearing forcesgconsequently prolonged inlife.

lll/lith these and other objects in view which will appear to thosefamiliar with the art as fthe Vnature of 'the invention is betterunderstood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated andclaimed, and while the structural features of the invention arenecessarily susceptible of a wide range of modification withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof, a preferred and practical emlbodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which llligure l is a:sectional perspective view of an insulated rail joint constructedinaccordance with `'the present invention.-

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l showing the bolt fastenings andthe `outer [filler andfabutment :member removed, therei ltirely changethe plan of `metal distribu-V 4tion fin making the joint bar. That involves a substantiallightening of the weight of the lbar, and preferablyis accomplished by rolling the joint lbar designated by the numerallwith deformations in the outer i sides of its web 2. These deformationsobviously could assumeldifferent forms or shapes but in the `preferredembodiment consist yin makingthe outer side ofthe web comprising theupright rib members Sand the `cavities or reducements il; alternatingtherewith. The rib members 3 represent the normalwallthiekness for theweb of the bar while the cavities or reducements 4 `form 'subnormallyAthinned wall portions. "In

other words at spaced locations the web of the joint bar is left withnormal wall portions 3, andjin other spaced locations as at lsubstantial quantities of metal are removed from the web of the jointbar leaving at suchplaces vsubnormally thinned wall portions, therebysubstantially and .materially lightening the :joint bar. v Furtherthatthe cavities or grooves producing the submirmally thinned 'wall portionsextend 'to and preferably somewhat past-thefillets` at the upper yandlowercorners ofithebar web,

inforcing effect of the brackets of metal formed by the upper and lowerends of the wall or rib members 3 which merge respectively into the headand foot portions of the bar. This plan of metal distribution Qrof thejoint barofeorrugated formation `more, it willbe observed from thedrawings thereby conserving at such points the repermits substantialeconomy and saving in the use of metal, and at the same time obtains theproper distribution of metal whereby adequate head, kfoot and e webstrength may be maintained. y

Furthermore, by vconfining the deformation of the web of the bar to theoutside thereof, the bar may be so shaped as to bring its web quiteclose to the Web of the rail so that the bolt holes 5 through the Web ofthe bar afford ample bearing area forthe insulating bolt-bushings 6which receive the joint bolts 7.-

In fabricating an insulated rail joint embodying a joint bar having thestructural characteristics described the usual head and base insulation8 and 9 respectively are employed, and the joint structure is completed,by associating with each joint bar an outer filler member 10, insulatingWasher 11 and metal Washer plate l2.

The outer filler member 10 may be made of insulating material or of acheap quality of steel and is in the form of a plate or bar having afiat outer face 13 constituting an abutment against which flatly bearsthe insulating Washer l1 and at its inner side the filler member iscorrugated producing alternate ribs 14 and channels 15 Which arecomplements of and register With the ribs 8 and grooves 4 respectivelyof the corrugated outer side of the Web 2 of the rail joint bar. Inbrief, the inner side of the filler member 10 is corrugated tocorrespond to and interlock With the correspondingly corrugated -outerside of the Web of the joint bar so that the 'filler member Willconstitute a light but substantial abutment against Which the insulatingWashers 11 are clamped by the metal Washers 12 When the nuts 16 of thebolts are tightened.

F rom the construction described it Will be seen that not only is thejoint materially lightened in Weight throughout but a very thorough andsatisfactory insulation for the joint is permitted While at the sametime a very extended and ample bearing area is provided for the boltbearing bushings 6 in the bolt holes 5 of the joint bars, which boltholes register with the bolt holes 5 in the outer filler members 10. Inthe embodiment shown in the drawings the joint bar illustrated is of thewell known continuous type but it will of course be understood that theimprovements are applicable to joint bars of the angle type, and Whilethe outer filler member 10 is shown as a continuous strip or bar thesame may be made in separate pieces, and other minor modificationsresorted to Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

I claim 1. An insulated rail joint including a joint bar insulated atits inner side from the rail and having the outer side of its Webdeformed to produce subnormally lightened Web portions, and clampingmeans interlocking With said deformed part of the bar Web.

2. An insulated rail joint including a joint bar insulated at its innerside from the rail and having the outer side of its Web deformed toproduce subnormally lightened Web portions, and insulated clamping meansinterlocking with said deformed part of the bar Web. y

3. An insulated rail joint including a joint bar insulated at its innerside from the rail and having its outer side formed With corrugationsproducing subnormally thin portions in the Web, and clamping meansinterlocking With the corrugated outer side of the bar.

4. An insulated rail joint including a joint bar insulated at its innerside from the rail and having its outer side deformed to producevertically disposed and alternately arranged depressions formingsubnormally thin Web portions, and clamping means interlocking with theouter side of the bar web.

5. An insulated rail joint including a joint bar insulated at its innerside from the rail and provided at its outer side with cavities formingsubnormally thinned Web portions, a filler member having ribs engagingand interlocking With the cavities of the bar web, and means forclamping the filler member in place.

6. An insulated rail joint including a joint bar insulated at its innerside from the rail and provided at its outer side With cavities formingsubnormally thinned Web portions, a filler member having ribs engagingand interlocking With the cavities of the bar Web, and insulated meansfor clamping the filler member in place. i

7. An insulated rail joint including a joint barinsulated at'its innerside from the rail and provided at the outer side of its web withalternating portions respectively of normal and subnormal thickness, afiller member or p late provided at its inner side With alternating ribsand channels interlocking With the deformed outer side of the bar web,and insulated bolt clamping means engaging the filler member or plate.

Intestimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

EDWARDS r. soHERMEnHoRN.

